The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with Canadian Pacific Kansas City for violating the Clean Water Act following two derailments that resulted in oil spills in Maine.
The derailments on the former Central Maine & Quebec occurred in 2022 and 2023 following washouts. Nearly 15,000 gallons of contaminants were spilled into nearby waterways, according to the EPA.
CPKC will pay a $16,544 fine and will be required to purchase emergency response equipment, including an off-road vehicle, for the fire department that responded to the 2023 derailment.
“Transportation companies using, storing or handling fuel oils have responsibilities to prevent spills and contamination of the environment,” EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash said in a statement yesterday. ”This settlement highlights EPA’s commitment to protecting America’s waterways and ensures communities, including Tribal communities and the natural resources they depend on, are protected from hazardous substances that can harm human health or the environment.”
A small amount of diesel fuel was spilled in an October 2022 derailment in Orneville, Maine, when three locomotives and six cars derailed, the Bangor Daily News reported. In an April 2023 wreck in Sandwich Academy Grant Township, three locomotives and four cars derailed, resulting in a spill of diesel fuel, hydraulic fluid, and engine oil.
